Wagamama announces reopening dates for 18 restaurants…

Wagamama announces reopening dates for 18 restaurants - the full list

Wagamama has announced the first phase of its reopening plans, with 18 sites welcoming back diners in July.

The Manchester Trafford Centre branch will be among the first to open on July 6, and the Bolton and Didsbury branches will follow later in the month on July 27.

The pan-Asian chain will be installing sliding screens to carve up its long communal tables and bench seating to comply with the new '1m plus' distancing guideline.

The Japanese-style partitions sit on tiny rollers and can be moved up and down the full length of the tables to discreetly separate groups of guests from one another.

They'll be trialled at the Royal Festival Hall restaurant in London, which will be the first to reopen on July 4, before being rolled out to the Trafford Centre, Stevenage and Swindon from July 6 to test their safety and efficiency.

Design director Mark Standing said: “Sliding screens (shoji) are at the very heart of the Japanese architectural aesthetic. They have been used for hundreds of years to divide spaces in buildings and rooms. I took my inspiration for the design of screen dividers for our long sharing tables and benches from this tradition."

Other measures being put in place include distanced queuing and disposable menus on place mats.

A cashless payment system will also be used, with a simple pay on phone mechanic at the end of the meal to minimise staff and customer contact. The system will also fulfil the government’s request of taking the name and phone number of at least one person in the group visiting the restaurant, to aid NHS Test and Trace efforts.

If all goes well at the four trial sites, Wagamama plans to have 18 restaurants open by the end of July, followed by a phased return of its entire estate by early September.

Gyoza at Wagamama (Manchester Evening News)

CEO Emma Woods said: “The main question we have been working on as a team is how can our guests feel safe but still have a communal wagamama experience, sitting on our benches.

"The team have applied our philosophy of kaizen - good change - to this challenge and I am delighted we have found a design solution which provides social distancing for our guests in a way which is true to the design ethos of the brand.

“We are looking forward to getting our guests back in and obtaining their feedback in the first 18 sites. If these tests go well, we will reopen the remainder of our restaurants throughout August and September.”